Soil Explorer vs USDA PPRL
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Soil Explorer
Discover detailed soil property and landscape maps for U.S. states and global soil distributions. Understand how map features relate to real-world observations. This educational tool uses data from USDA and USGS to illustrate complex soil-landscape relationships.
- Detailed soil property maps
- Landscape visualizations
- Global soil distribution maps
- Field observation correlation
- USDA NRCS data integration
- USGS data integration
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Explore detailed maps of soil properties and landscapes for various U.S. states, as well as small-scale maps of soil distributions for the world. Examine the details for a specific area, but also see the overview for a large area. Learn how features shown on the maps correspond to what you observe in the field. Soil Explorer utilizes detailed soil survey data from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and data and maps from the U. S. Geological Survey and other sources to produce informative, highly engaging maps. These maps are designed to show the complex interrelationships between soil properties and the landscapes in which soils occur.
USDA PPRL
This app helps livestock owners identify poisonous plants to prevent animal loss. It provides a searchable database of toxic flora and allows users to report livestock poisonings to the research lab.
- Identify poisonous plants
- Searchable plant database
- Prevent livestock loss
- Report livestock poisonings
- Awareness of toxic flora
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The Poisonous Plant Research Lab App by USDA is aimed to help livestock owners (Ranchers) in preventing/minimizing the loss of their livestock by giving them awareness about poisonous plant. The app will allow a rancher to search for poisonous plants using the information provided in the Application via bulletin 415. Users will be able to contact PPRL to report their livestock poisoning.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: USDA PPRL at 100% against Soil Explorer's 0%. USDA PPRL also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
USDA PPRL holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Soil Explorer's written reviews are positive against 100% of USDA PPRL's.
Soil Explorer ships an update every 11 months, USDA PPRL every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Soil Explorer | USDA PPRL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (9 ratings) | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.7 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 172 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Purdue University | Utah State University |
Customer experience
Soil Explorer
USDA PPRL
In-app purchases
Soil Explorer
No in-app purchases
USDA PPRL
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Soil Explorer free?
Is USDA PPRL free?
Which has better reviews, Soil Explorer or USDA PPRL?
Do Soil Explorer or USDA PPRL have ads?
Which is updated more often, Soil Explorer or USDA PPRL?
Other comparisons
